Jul 12, 2014

06:00 AM

New B&B by Connecticut Couple Opens in Provincetown, With French Flair

By Douglas P. Clement

(page 2 of 2)

And it was meant to be. Baldwin notes that her family heritage extends back to the folks who came over on the Mayflower, whose passengers prominently included John Howland and William Bradford, who would become governor of Plymouth Colony. The house that’s being remade as Roux is on the corner of Howland and Bradford streets.

Mitnick first saw the house on Feb. 21, 2013, and they moved into the beautiful old Victorian on Feb. 22 of this year (which meant selling a house in East Haddam, Conn., and a family house in Newtown).

“We had a year to really design and imagine,” they say, and, employing their background in marketing, they carefully and passionately worked on the plans, the room designs (hiring an artist to produce the gorgeous renderings of the guestrooms) and designing the guest experience.

“That has been the most exciting and most thoughtful part of the process,” Mitnick says, describing how they envisioned the need for a romantic room, and a room that would provide solace, a sanctuary, for those with hearts on the mend.

There are six guest rooms in all, including a two-bedroom suite with a kitchenette. Mitnick and Baldwin wanted the rooms to be fun, with names that touch on art, all things French and cooking, “and they needed to be a little campy.”

The sexy, whimsical pink room (above) is called Not Your Mama’s Rouge, and the suite (below) is called Paris Trance:

"If you’re up for a Parisian Flea Market - but can’t make the flight, Paris Trance is for you. This boho-chic, two-bedroom suite with private bath and newly renovated furnished kitchenette is ideal for friends, couples or families traveling together. With a spacious main bedroom and Edith Pilaf - its second, cozier boudoir - you’ll feel invited to stay for a few days, a full week or for as long as you possibly can."

“Allison and I are so happy to be here,” Mitnick says. “We are walking on air. Nothing’s bothering us, the dust, the plaster in my hair.” She described them walking home at night from dinner, stopping to look at the water and saying in a state of semi-awe, “We live here.”

Later, in May, when Roux’s website was live, reservations for stays starting in July were being accepted and work on Roux proceeded, Mitnick and Baldwin remained unflappable. Told in an email that this story was in the works and would be online around mid-May, they wrote:

“We are deep in the throes of renovation currently. We're like two powdered donuts covered in plaster - and you may quote us on that :). We will be opening for July. We are accepting reservations NOW. The timing is PERFECT! “

If the art of renovating can be so pleine de grâce, it bodes well indeed for the art of staying at Roux.

“Roux may be one of the newest additions to the Provincetown B&B landscape, but she has a history,” the website says. “Rich. Welcoming. Playful. A little chic. A lot of fun. She's a French girl about to hold a very wonderful party.”

“We want to share it with the friends we know and the friends we have yet to meet,” Mitnick says.

And Baldwin wants people to know that if they have a dream like Roux, they should take a leap of faith and follow their passion because “the universe delivers.” (Right, Roux under construction but already gleaming.)

“We are truly grateful to have such a beautiful home to share with others and, so, we are incredibly proud to share that Roux will donate a percentage of its profits to the Forty to None Project—a program of the True Colors Fund (Cyndi Lauper's organization)—that seeks to raise awareness and bring about an end to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth experiencing homelessness,” Mitnick and Baldwin say. “Forty percent of homeless youth are gay and no one should go without a home.”